Carnaval San Francisco Fat Tuesday Celebration takes place in the Mission District
By Amanda Hari
Rainy weather wasn’t stopping people from going out and celebrating Mardi Gras in San Francisco on Tuesday.
Restaurants and businesses throughout the Mission District were participating in the Carnaval San Francisco Fat Tuesday Celebration with live music and performances.
“You don’t cancel Christmas and you don’t cancel Carnaval in San Francisco,” said Carnaval San Francisco Executive Director Rodrigo Duran.
Duran is the son of Mexican immigrants and a native of San Francisco. He knows February is not the time for an outdoor event in the city.
“All of our venues are inside, and the artists are going to come and perform and dance, and they have huge followings, so we expect this to be another great Carnaval,” explained Duran.
This is just the kickoff of the 48th Carnaval season. It is a night of music, samba dancing, and a crawl to venues across the Mission. But the Grand Parade isn’t until May.
“You mentioned the rain,” said Duran. “That’s the reason that we don’t have our Carnaval celebration in February like the rest the world, because it rains in San Francisco.”
Still, the dancers brought a taste of what people will get in May.
“Yes! Absolutely, this is how we kind of hype everybody up for what’s coming,” said dancer Angelita Peter.
The Hall is participating in Carnaval for the first time ever. The business, which specializes in billiards, just opened about six months ago.
Co-owner Modi Shantharam believes partnering with an event like this can bring in new customers.
“We’re hoping people who don’t play pool end up coming here because this is a place where we have food, we have good cocktails, and it’s a good vibe in here as well,” said Shantharam.
Duran says Carnaval is all about the community it serves.
“Carnaval San Francisco is a reflection of our neighborhood and our city so the way that we ensure that this city and this neighborhood thrives is by uplifting all of us,” said Duran. “We’re using all of our networks, our resources, our people to make celebrations like today happen.”
